A stellar cast of speakers assembled in London to debate the motion ‘The Indian sub-continent benefited more than it lost from the experience of British Colonialism.’ All the speakers were in swas
A stellar cast of speakers assembled in London to debate the motion ‘The Indian sub-continent benefited more than it lost from the experience of British Colonialism.’ All the speakers were in swashbuckling mode under strict instructions from the chair, Keith Vaz, MP, to stick to time. Mr. Vaz, who is well used to keeping order in the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, which he chairs, warned that speakers risked the humiliation of being cut off in mid-sentence if they exceeded their allotted 5 minutes. There were sparks and glints as speakers reveled in verbal swordplay. The debate took place in the imposing Supreme Court, the highest appellate court in the United Kingdom.
Clockwise from top left: Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, Eman Omar, Michele Hutchison, Joanna McCalmont and Marieke Lucas Rijneveld
This year’s Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) provided space for many book launches and conversations with an array of authors from different parts of the world. From architectural influences derived from the Islamic world, to the historical significance of horses in the Subcontinent, audiences were spoiled for choice with the variety of topics discussed.
Marina Wheeler was one such writer who paid homage to her roots in the launch of her book, Lost Homestead: My Mother, Partition and the Punjab. Offering different perspectives on the British empire and Partition, Wheeler’s memoir traces her mother Kuldip ‘Dip’ Singh’s journey during the Raj and her experience of Partition.
LAHORE: The Lahore Literary Festival started on Thursday with several sessions across a spectrum of topics.
In one of them, author and Barrister (Queen’s Counsel) Marina Wheeler sat in conversation with Newsweek Pakistan’s culture editor, Nelofar Bakhtyar.
The conversation was focused on the situation of Punjab as seen by Wheeler’s mother, as she grew up there during the Raj, and also seeing Partition.
The book titled ‘The Lost Homestead: My Mother, Partition and the Punjab is’, is a memoir of Wheeler’s mother’s life, where she confronts what she calls an ‘uncomfortable heritage’.
“I got the idea for this book when it was the 70th anniversary of independence, or what the British refer to as the ‘transfer of power’, which also created a lot of interest in the UK,” she said. “I watched a lot of coverage with my mother. I realised she had been there. I was curious to know more about that. Empire being a difficult subject in the UK, meant I knew less about